Office Visit: Azita Ghanizada

In her SyFy show Alphas, Azita Ghanizada plays a girl with superhuman sensory abilities. But in real life, she’s a humble superhero. Working with Women for Women, she’s helped to provide countless female survivors of war with the tools to and resources to become self-sufficient. Political awareness has always been a part of her life: Ghanizada and her parents were political refugees from Afghanistan (the Soviets invaded in 1979 when the country was already in the grip of a civil war).

Although she’s passionate about human rights and foreign diplomacy, after working briefly on Capital Hill in high school, Ghanizada realized that politics wasn’t the right career path. “I have so much respect for policy makers and diplomats, but I could never be a politician because of the way they dress!” Ghanizada says. “Panty hose? No thank you.”

Ghanizada’s style reflects her personality—brave with a sense of humor. She’s not afraid to pair Balenciaga shoes with Express jeans and never takes fashion too seriously. "I go to the gym in a baseball cap, sweats and then run into a boy I like," she offers as an example. "It happens, so what?" But her look also reflects her roots: "I grew up very poor so I learned how to stretch a dollar. It’s nice to combine high-end with low-end or whatever-end you want." Ghanizada also gets a lot of fashion help from her mom. "Whenever my mom goes to Afghanistan, I’m just like, ‘Bring me jewelry.’”